Their March 1 clash sparked intense controversy. The long-awaited rematch, however, may not materialize. Lamont Roach recently spoke to BoxingScene about his future plans, expressing skepticism that Gervonta Davis—recently arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in front of their children and later released—will grant him a rematch.
The first and so far only bout between the two ended in a draw, with two judges scoring it 114-114 and the third giving Davis a two-point edge—a score nullified by the other cards. What caused the strongest outrage, however, was not the final verdict but rather the performance of referee Steve Willis.
In the ninth round, Davis went down on one knee, touching his eye just seconds after a Roach jab had landed in the same spot. The referee neither issued a count nor penalized Davis when he walked back to his corner—without permission—to have his face wiped. Considering the final scorecards, that decision essentially allowed Gervonta to retain his WBA lightweight world title.
Those who were hoping for an immediate rematch to finally determine who is the better man may be left disappointed. These were Roach’s words to BoxingScene:
“Well first off, the rematch don’t look like it’s happening. That’s just to put it out there and be transparent with everyone because that’s the only question I get 10 times a day, maybe even more. That’s what it is and that’s what it’s looking like, again, we haven’t heard from [Davis’] camp specifically when it comes to the business. It is what it is, as far as my future, we are moving on, we can’t afford to sit around and drag our feet, but there has been some recent news that his charges got dismissed in Florida.
“Like I said, we are not going to sit around and wait, their best bet is to try to structure something. If not we are going to move forward, it’s not like we are the ‘cash cow. But we’ll see.”
Roach also added that he is unlikely to return to his old weight class at super featherweight, unless he receives a massive offer for a high-profile fight. Instead, he would prefer to remain at lightweight, perhaps landing a bout next year with current WBC champion Shakur Stevenson, who has publicly expressed his willingness to face him.